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World’s Top Universities: British Magazine “Times Higher Education” released the 2018 Best Universities Rankings - only two Italian institutions, Sant’Anna and Normale in Pisa among the top 200

Publication date: 07.10.2017
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Only two Italian institutions, Sant’Anna and Normale in Pisa, featured in the top 200 “Best Universities in the World”. According to the 2018 Times Higher Education rankings, they ranked 155th and 184th respectively. The World Best Universities Rankings 2018 include over 1000 institutions across 77 countries judged on academic quality, teaching, research and citations. The European top 100 shows UK dominating the list with 3 university institutions: Oxford, Cambridge  and Imperial College. The University of Oxford ranked first in the latest Times Higher Education global rankings. The University of Cambridge ranked second; US California Institute of Technology shares joint third place with Stanford University. The table shows the rise of Asian universities, with China’s institutions holding their positions in the top 100. This is evidence that Chinese universities received public funding for improving teaching and research. Two European universities, in particular, are now at the top of their national rankings despite increasing competition: Spain’s Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and Italy’s Sant’Anna School in Pisa. Rankings fluctuations can be observed by looking at the results of Sant’Anna and Normale which already signed an Expression of Interest and discuss opportunities for joining a consortium with IUSS - Pavia focusing on their common strengths.

The Times Higher Education rankings use rigorous performance indicators. Higher education institutions must demonstrate high standards of performance across teaching, research, citations, publications, and industry income. Analysts also pointed out that combined benchmarked teaching metrics can give a better picture of how smaller universities can provide a better students experience. Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, said the survey data have enabled to develop deeper analyses into the changing 1000 higher education institutions landscape. Scholars from across the world and across all academic disciplines have been selected based on their publication record; at least one thousand publications over a five year period. Sant’Anna and Normale, as leading institutions in research and teaching quality, are ranked as two of the best universities in the world.

"The Times Higher Education 2018 World Best Universities rankings - commented Pierdomenico Perata, rector of Sant'Anna and Vincenzo Barone, director of Normale - show that our universities combined excellence in education and research. We are increasingly committed to improve our performance and we are deeply proud of our young university founded in 1987. The 2018 rankings recognize the quality of research outputs; we are aware our scientific cooperation is vital to tackle the challenges in the global economy and we are aware we should not forget our fundamental values to recognize students who achieve high academic standards, and who possess talent and personal merit, irrespective of financial circumstance”.  

“The 2018 Times Higher Education rankings, said Pierdomenico Perata and Vincenzo Barone also recognize the quality of our dedicated faculty members and the high quality of our education and training facilities. Our institutions will constantly upgrade the infrastructure of teaching and research environment to attract and retain the best academics and students. Higher education has become much more diversified, enhancing social and geographical access to education and we are committed to provide the best occupational preparation and meet the expectations of talented and motivated school graduates. Our mission is the advancement of learning through service to society by awarding scholarships and offering the best education available to outstanding students. We have not been offered additional funding for our merit-based programs and we received very low public financial support –less than one percent of total national investment in university sector. We hope that our results in the 2018 rankings will increase the government spending on education. Our Sant’Anna, Normale and Iuss Consortium will focus on allocating resources efficiently and effectively to improve all students’ academic achievement”.

Click here for the Times Higher Education 2018 “World University Rankings.